Got to grasp this beauty in my hot little hand today. Like Howy said, it has jumped to the top of my list. The blue works surprisingly well too. Great work."And they crossed swords."
--William Goldman, alias S. Morgenstern

I just got off the phone with Mike Sigman. I placed order number one on this one six years ago (!) so to say that I'm excited would be an understatement. It looks like a great one Howard and I can't wait to get my hands on it.

I haven't done a detailed write up of a sword in a long time, but expect one on this baby folks!"I'd rather go upriver with 7 studs, than a 100 sh!theads." - COL Charlie Beckwith, founder SFODD

I own the Dane and I have a preorder for the Maximilian/Tyrolean for years too - but the pictures of the final Maximilian are a little disappointing for me. The reason is the size change comparing to the drafts on the website, as you can see below. As you can easily see the draft shows a significant longer blade. I measured it in Photoshop, it's about 5-7cm longer.

So I really love the change in size in case of the Dane - the drafts showed also a much longer blade back then but Albion decided to shorten the blade for the final one, too. In my opinion the final Dane is much more appealing on an aestethic and proportional level than the draft was.

In case of the Maximilian the blade was also shorten, but in my opinion it is now less appealing. What do you think about the different sizes?

Perhaps Peter could explain a little bit the decisions for the shorter blade? That would be great!

I own the Dane and I have a preorder for the Maximilian/Tyrolean for years too - but the pictures of the final Maximilian are a little disappointing for me. The reason is the size change comparing to the drafts on the website, as you can see below. As you can easily see the draft shows a significant longer blade. I measured it in Photoshop, it's about 5-7cm longer.

So I really love the change in size in case of the Dane - the drafts showed also a much longer blade back then but Albion decided to shorten the blade for the final one, too. In my opinion the final Dane is much more appealing on an aestethic and proportional level than the draft was.

In case of the Maximilian the blade was also shorten, but in my opinion it is now less appealing. What do you think about the different sizes?

Perhaps Peter could explain a little bit the decisions for the shorter blade? That would be great!

Thanks,
Ulli

Ulli, I am sorry to hear you are disappointed.
I did not shorten the blade. I lengthened the grip to make the sword bigger, to induce an even sweeter balance and to tweak the proportions for a better aesthetic effect.
It is a bigger and more fluid sword thus way.
If you remake your comparison, keeping blade length constant instead of total lngth, you will see the effect.
Hope the experience you have when you hold it makes up for your misgivings after looking at drawings and photos.

Waiting years for a sword is not easy. Expectations is the killer.

Concept drawings are by their nature preliminary. It is what customers are faced to go by and they are a blessing and a curse that way. The concept drawing of a design is not the final solution. During development a sword goes through several tweaks and adjustments, New finds in research sometimes motivates changes.

I do not make changes from concept lightheartedly, as I know many are set on certain features and will not welcome changes from this. At the same I feel a responsibility to make the swords the best I can, to make sure they meet their full potential.
This is not very different from when I make a sword in my smithy. I need some degree of freedom to be able to reach for the best solution.

These issues are exactly why I approach a sword purchase in the following manner:

1) Assume concept drawings and rough specifications are exactly that, rough and conceptual. ( I don't know of any other maker who does this, yet Albion continually catches grief because people just don't seem to understand the idea of a rough concept. Perhaps they should just stop and leave us to our imaginations?)

2) Assume the maker knows more than I do about maximizing the swords design characteristics.

3) Just don't take the subject so damn seriously, we ain't curin' cancer folks.

This perspective has always held me in good stead."I'd rather go upriver with 7 studs, than a 100 sh!theads." - COL Charlie Beckwith, founder SFODD

I was wondering what the limitation is on Albions CNC machine. I know they had to get a new CNC machine somewhat recently tobe able to create these longer blades, but I am curious as to the maximum blade length Albion could make. What is the limitation of blade size?

I have to say, I am very excited for this sword. I do feel that the Dane and the Maximillian could have longer blades. I like the Dane very much, but for such an extreme sword, I'm certain it could have been even longer. As for the Maximillian, I also though it could be a tad bit longer in dimension. Certainly, there were many examples of longer blades and longer zweihander... However, I suppose the quote has always been: "The Maximilian is inspired by the many examples of *smaller* zweihander (zweihander = two-hander) swords carried by the Landesknecht" So I suppose it is just what it says, a smaller 2-hander.

Ok, so, for a future sword, please do the Tall and wide XXII as previously you illustrated :-)

The only danger of doing a small version of a 2-hander, is that the XXII can be just as big... Either way, I love the illustration Peter made of the tall, large XXII. However, that seems like it could be bigger than this so called zweihander. It doesn;t change my desire for the tall, large XXII.

Peter, thank you for your explanations. Perhaps my written words with "little disappointing" seem stronger than they actually are.
You're right - when waiting for something for years and having only rough information (images) in mind, the final result could be a (little) shock. However in case of the Dane it was a very positive shock for me - I liked the final one instantly much more than the concept draw. And I also had preordered the Dane, so perhaps I unconsciously hoped for another positive surprise in case of the Maximilian/Tyrolean ;-)
Nevertheless I will remake my comparisons in Photoshop to appease my first impression from yesterday and think about your words. It would be nice if you could post the final data and specifications. Thank you!

Patrick, of course you're right - but for me looking at swords, handling them and so on is a very emotional thing, even with concept drafts. It's hard for me to be rational like you described. But I will remember your words next time! Perhaps the preorder possibility is a little bit dangerous for people like me ;-)
By the way I'm very focused on the proportion of blade and grip length, much more on an aesthetically (and personal opinion) level. So I don't have much knowledge about proper sword handling characteristics when fighting with them.

I would be very interested in hearing from both Peter and Albion regarding the challenges present in the design and manufacture of a large sword such as this. Too many of the replicas we see of this type are quite heavy and ungainly. What are the challenges in designing a sword like this in regards to issues of handling and feel. Likewise, are there any issues that have to be overcome regarding the manufacture and heat treatment of a blade this long?

Those of us old enough to remember the old days will recall that most reproduction swords were horrible in both their mechanics and proportion. Makers, both production and custom, really knew nothing about swords and were primarily knife makers. Hence, reproduction swords tended to simply be overgrown knives and handled accordingly. I can see similar issues when going from a singled-handed sword, or a typical longsword up to a sword of this size. I'm curious to know if the design principles and manufaturing have to be approached from a different angle."I'd rather go upriver with 7 studs, than a 100 sh!theads." - COL Charlie Beckwith, founder SFODD

Patrick, of course you're right - but for me looking at swords, handling them and so on is a very emotional thing, even with concept drafts. It's hard for me to be rational like you described. But I will remember your words next time! Perhaps the preorder possibility is a little bit dangerous for people like me ;-)
By the way I'm very focused on the proportion of blade and grip length, much more on an aesthetically (and personal opinion) level. So I don't have much knowledge about proper sword handling characteristics when fighting with them.

Well Ulli, consider this an opportunity to expand you horizons.

I agree and freely admit it's hard to be totally rational when it comes to this subject. We all came to this hobby from an emotional place. I for one didn't gain a love of swords because I saw them as a math problem! However, my continued growth in this field has constantly shown me the value of keeping an open mind. I've learned and continue to learn so much because I've conditioned myself to ignore my own preconceptions."I'd rather go upriver with 7 studs, than a 100 sh!theads." - COL Charlie Beckwith, founder SFODD

Me too! I'm pretty psyched about this one. I've never owned a sharp that was this big before. I own some training blunts that are this size (in particular the A&A Montante trainer), so I'm really looking forward to doing some test cutting with this guy!

The very first replica I ever owned was one this size, my mother bought it for me at an estate sale. It wasn't even close the the quality of an Albion but I was thrilled with it just the same. Swords like this are some of my favorites so I'm pretty psyched too. FedEx tells me it will be here Thursday and I'm glad I don't have any plans! I went with basic black for the grip, you?"I'd rather go upriver with 7 studs, than a 100 sh!theads." - COL Charlie Beckwith, founder SFODD

I received a pick-up e-mail from FedEx this afternoon, so the wait begins........tic, toc, tic, toc.

Me too! I'm pretty psyched about this one. I've never owned a sharp that was this big before. I own some training blunts that are this size (in particular the A&A Montante trainer), so I'm really looking forward to doing some test cutting with this guy!

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